Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I've just finished reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I'm making the man behind the Beaded Woman Read it too and I will be passing it along to friends. It was such a great read! As I neared the end of the book, the thoughts that ran through my head were, "What if Martin Luther King, Jr. never had a dream? Or what if Rosa Parks never sat down on that bus and refused to move? Or what if people never cared enough to march on Washington to declare that all men and women are equal? Or if the women who came before me hadn't pushed for the woman's right to vote?" I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all the people who have gone before me to make this world a better place. I am not so naive to think that the world is perfect, and you could say there is a whole lot wrong with the world, but in some ways it IS better. And it is better because someone stood up and said, "HEY! Listen, this needs to change, what are we going to do about this."I also read the author's words on her own experiences with the issues in "The Help" and I could sense her regret that she didn't do something earlier (even though she was very young when this all happened) and I kept returning to the thoughts of my cupcake brooches. The suffering of women and children is an area of passion for me. I know this is an area of passion because when I hear of a little one suffering at the hands of another human being, I weep. Reading this book gave me a renewed sense of needing to ease the suffering of other people. So I have been knitting like a mad woman to increase the amount of stock I have on my cupcake brooches!The proceeds from these brooches go to help free or prevent women and children from being sold into slavery. If you think slavery is an outdated issue from the 1800's, think again. There are more slaves today than when William Wilberforce worked to abolish slavery in the 1800's and they COST LESS! Think on that a moment, we can put a price on another persons life and it's an appallingly low number!There are more facts and details on the Little Cupcake Brooches page of my blog. If you would like to join in me creating change for other people, then please purchase a brooch or you can visit Tear Fund and make a direct donation to the micro enterprise scheme that will help prevent families from selling their children into slavery.And so I will continue to educate one cupcake at a time......

Monday, October 17, 2011

It's been awhile since my last blog. Okay over a year but whose counting? I have been quietly working away at The Beaded Woman, doing markets, redesigning the mother's bracelets, designing the little princess, just like mommy and upcycled ranges. It has been a busy year and now that I am sitting here reflecting, The Beaded Woman is 18months old now! Wow, time flies when you're having fun!I have also taught myself to crochet over the last few months and I must say I'm addicted to it! So as well as jewelry I've been selling finger puppets at the market as well. I'm also in the process of designing a munchy, munchy caterpillar that is oh so cute! It is with these finger puppets and little princess necklaces that I decided to join a website called Little Kiwi's Nest. Little Kiwi's Nest is an online shop for handmade goods for children. The items on LKN are so gorgeous and I'm so honored to be a part of such a creative group. I will also be selling the new mother's bracelets and just like mommy bracelets on LKN. I hope to be up and running with my web shop for LKN by the first of November. You can check it out at littlekiwisnest.co.nzI went to the parent and child show a few weeks back and I did a fair bit of networking while at the show. I showed my bracelets off to a lovely lady named Kate who is launching Kidzgrab on the 22nd of October. We are working on a deal for you, so if you haven't already, sign up on kidzgrab.co.nz and watch for The Beaded Woman in November!So yes, it is all happening at once and it is all very exciting!